The former pulp and paper mill in Campbell River, shown in this Feb. 1 photo, was the site of an incident that exposed a worker to the risk of “serious injury or death,” according to a WorkSafeBC report. Photo by David Gordon Koch/Black Press

Demolition company ‘exposed worker to serious injury or death’ at former Island mill – WorkSafeBC

Dangerous workplace conditions exposed a worker to “serious injury or death” at a former pulp and paper mill on Vancouver Island last month, according to a WorkSafeBC report obtained by Black Press.

On Jan. 19, the floor of a building collapsed at the former mill in Campbell River. A worker who was trapped by debris walked away unharmed. But the incident raised questions about safety at the site, resulting in a stop work order that’s still in effect.

The Jan. 24 report states that ABC Recycling “failed to employ the services of a professional engineer to prescribe structural support for infrastructures for demolition.”

A building that was in the process of being demolished “was compromised structurally and as a result collapsed with a worker inside, exposing the worker to serious injury or death,” according to a Jan. 22 stop-work order cited in the report.

WorkSafeBC released the inspection report in response to an inquiry by Black Press.

On Jan. 19, firefighters were dispatched to the old mill following the report of a collapsed building with a person trapped inside, according to Thomas Doherty, chief of the Campbell River Fire Department.

The worker was pinned under debris but was able to self-extricate and no injuries were reported, Doherty said. A WorkSafeBC spokesperson confirmed that the incident caused no injuries.

An interior floor collapsed inside a multi-storey building, but the structure itself was still standing, according to Doherty.

He said the collapse also resulted in the rupture of a 400-pound oxygen tank and a 100-pound propane cylinder, but the gases dissipated without incident.

The site of the former Catalyst mill, which closed permanently in 2010, is owned by Rockyview Resources. The Calgary-based company bought the property in May 2016 following the bankruptcy of the site’s previous owner, Quicksilver Resources Canada.

Rockyview is an oil and gas exploration firm that aims to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the site, a project dubbed Discovery LNG.